On April 10, 2009 Alexandr Sofronov, Chief Financial Officer of Eurosib SPb-Transportation Systems, took part in the second meeting of CFO Club "Financial department. Club of Experts" organized by the business daily ‘Vedomosti". The meeting was held in the ‘Holiday Inn Moscow Gates' hotel in St. Petersburg.
The range of subjects discussed at the Club meeting included anti-crisis actions of financial offices of companies: financing strategies, company's adaptation and work improvement of financial services, on-the-fly mode of reconsideration of the financial plans of enterprises, new conditions of business crediting, debt restructuring and conditions of debt instruments transfer, barter and bill debts, and alternative settlement systems.
The first meeting of CFO Club took place last November. According to the questionnaire survey of participants of the previous event, Alexandr Sofronov got the top score from the professional audience.
This year, Alexandr Sofronov was elected in the presidium of the Club second meeting "Procedures of Company Financial Rehabilitation". He presented a speech on "Company Credit Indebtedness Management. Restructuring Mechanisms and Methods".
In his speech, the presenter analysed prerequisites and nature of the company debt current situation. Among the situation management tasks, the Chief Financial Officer of Eurosib SPb-Transportation Systems mentioned the following: the least task is elimination of cash flow gaps and provision of the current company activities with the required financial resources, and the maximum task - increase in the business value.
In the section of "Restructuring Mechanisms and Methods", Alexandr Sofronov proposed to consider debt restructuring as a bankruptcy alternative. The audience was presented with stages of all the restructuring process from grounding such a decision, creditors classification and principles of interaction with them and to specific actions of CFO in the course of debt restructuring. "Value of business of an acting company is higher than the value of assets during company dissolution," explained the presenter, "This, subsequently means to creditors that they may count on bigger percentage of their requirements satisfaction from informal restructuring than from bankruptcy; as for the debtor - shareholders are to some extent able to preserve the control over the business and the management and employees - to keep their working places."
CFO Club is a unique business arena for informal communication of top managers on topics related to finance control. During the event, a lot of CFOs of well-known companies, influential financiers and business experts shared their practical knowledge and experience. The event providers state that the Club was created as the business arena for meeting with colleagues to discuss the key and urgent issues of work of Financial Department experts.
The contributors to the second meeting of CFO Club were the largest Russian and foreign companies and educational and financial institutions of the North-West, namely: Eurosib SPb-Transportation Systems, Bill Market Association in the Northwest Federal District, St. Petersburg Regional Settlement and Commodity Center, Industry Settlement System, Stockholm University School of Business, Salans, Baker & McKenzie, Atlant-M-Holding, Bukvoyed bookstore chain and Svyaznoy Company.